Serving apparatus.



No. 741,186. PATENTED OCT. 13, 1903.

R. TAYLOR.

SERVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 18, 1902.

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PATENTED OUT. 13, 1903.

R.TAYLOR.- SERVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEU.18, 1902.

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PATEN'I'ED OCT. 13, 1903. R. TAYLOR. SERVING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 18, 1902.

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I SERVING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 741,186, dated October 13, 1903.

Application filed December 18, 1902. $erial No. 135,774. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT TAYLOR, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident of Albion House, Garrick Road, Ayr, in the county of Ayr, Scot1and,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Serving Apparatus, (for which I have made application for Letters Patent in' Great Britain, No. 13,831, hearing date June 18, 1902,) of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple serving apparatus for facilitating the removal of cards, labels, sheets of paper, or the like from packets or bundles.

My invention consists, broadly, of a frictional gripping device held against the exposed card or the like by elastic elements, Whichby their recoil after deflection act so as to cause said card. to project more or less from the pack,so that it can be readily grasped and withdrawn.

My invention consists more specifically of a ratchet-controlled roller furnished with a frictional'gripping device which is held up against the cards or the like by suitably-disposed springs or their equivalents and is operatedinamannertobehereinafterexplained.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention, Figure 1 shows a front elevation, and Fig. 2 a side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section,and Fig. 4 a

transverse section, of one form of myinven tion Fig. 5, a cross-section of the roller to a larger scale, showing ratchet; and Fig. 6, a section showing a modified form of container, while Figs. 7 and 8 show diagrammatically side and front elevations, respectively, of a modification of my invention.

According to one form of my invention I place the packet of cards or the like in a con tainer a, the bottom or door I) of which is preferably curved both longitudinally and transone-third of the length of the cards from the closed end of the container I provide a gripping device which takes the form of a roller 0, which has a suitable frictional surface, such as the india-ruhber ring 0, for contact with the card to be removed. This frictional surface may be of any suitable material and preferably only covers the center portion of the roller, so as to bear only on the raised central portion of the floor. This roller,whioh may extend across the whole width of the cards or not, as desired, is mounted on an axle d, the ends of which are secured to the springs e e which resist movement of the axle bodily and serve to return it to its original position when it has been deflected therefrom. The springs e e are preferably of somewhat greater strength than e 6 The springs 6' 6 which may be replaced by any equivalent flexible or elastic elements, are attached in any suitable manner to the axle of the roller, so as to allow the desired movements of the device to take place in the most effective manner.

Another arrangement of the flexible or elastic elements is shown in Figs. 7 and 8. In this modification an arm h is hinged to the base and held up against any suitable stop by springs i. To the end of this arm is hinged a second arm h, which carries the gripping device and which is held up against the sheets or cards by another spring, such as 'i, preferably of less strength than the springs z. The roller 0 is fitted with a ratchet device which allows it to rotate freely in one directionnamely, that in which it tends to rotate when it is moved bodily across the surface of the paper toward the closed end a of the container-but prevents rotation in the opposite direction. In this latter movement the frictional engagement of the surface of the roller causes the card operated on to project in a manner to be explained hereinafter.

I find a simple and effective ratchet device consists of a flexible piece of rubber f, which I attach at one end to the axle-d and which at the other end bears against the inside of the roller 0. This rubber tongue allows the roller to rotate freely in one direction, but in the other engages with it positively, so as to entirely prevent rotation.

According to another form of container,

whichl find especially suitable for small light papers, I incline the sides of the container at or near its open end, as shown in Fig. 6, so as to arch the papers to a small extent.

The action of the above-described devices may take place in either a non-automatic or an automatic manner. Supposing, first, the cards are of considerable thickness, so that they cannot be readily bent, then if it is desired to extract a card from the apparatus (illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4) the roller 0 is flicked with the [ingerin a direction toward the closed end of the container. The ratchet ofiering no resistance to the motion of the roller in this direction, it will roll over the exposed card, at the same time extending the springs e 6'. At the end of the flick the bodily motion of the roller will be reversed under the influence of the springs e, and rotation of the roller being prevented by the operation of .the ratchet the rubber ring 0 will grip the exposed card and cause it to slide over the other cards and to project more or less beyond them. It can then be easily grasped with the fingers and removed. This action of the device may be described as non-automatic. If, however, the cards, labels, or the like are thin enough to be readily bent or folded, the device may be operated in an automatic manner. According to this method of operation the free end of the label or the like is grasped by the fingers and doubled back over the'roller through about one hundred and eighty degrees, the roller being thus included in the bight or loop formed by the label. If the label be now sharply pulled in a direction away from the roller,the latter at first moves also traveling against the action of the springs e 6; but finally the label slips and comes away, releasing the roller, which, being prevented from rotating by the ratchet,grips the next label and causes it to project beyond the rest of the packet, when it can in its turn be readily withdrawn in the same manner.

The action of the modification shown in Figs. 7 and 8 willbe clear Without additional description. 7 Although in parts of the above description I have spoken of cards only, nevertheless I wish the word to be understood in a wide sense as including tickets, labels, sheet-s of paper, and all articles of a like nature.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a base, a friction element movable manually thereon in one direction, and springs to retain the friction element in place with respect to the base and to move said friction element in one direction, substantially as described.

2. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a base, having an elevated central longitudinally-disposed portion, a friction element movable on the base in one direction, and springs to move said friction element in the reverse direction, substan tially as described.

3. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a base, having a central, longitudinally-disposed elevated portion, a roller movable manually on the base in one direction, springs to retain the roller in position with respect to the base and to move the same in the reverse direction, substantially as described.

4. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a base, afriction element disposed transversely with reference to the base and movable manually thereon in one direction, and springs of unequal strength connecting the roller to the base, said springs extending in opposite directions from the roller to the base, substantially as described.

5. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a base, a roller movable longitudinally thereon, and having a frictionsurface, an axle extending through the roller, and devices connecting the axle to the base to maintain the roller in operative position with reference to the base, said devices including springs to move the roller in one direction.

6. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a base, a revoluble roller having a friction-surface, an axle extending through the roller, an elastic tongue fin the roller, and having one end attached to the axle and means connecting the axle to the base to preserve the relation of the roller thereto, said means including springs to move the roller in one direction, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two Witnesses.

ROBERT TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

ALBERT E. PARKER, ALBERT EDWARD COOKERELL. 

